And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths...

- 'Macbeth,' Act 1, Scene 3

There was no doubt about it: Rogue just could not win.

Here she finally had a guy - a cute guy, no less, even if he was a jerk sometimes - paying serious attention to her despite the fact she couldn't touch him, and it was turning into one the biggest headaches of her young life. Because, even though her friendship with Risty was mostly back to normal, the other girl just did not get along with Remy.

Rogue had been trying to mediate like crazy, but it was no use. They hated each other and there was no way in heaven or hell that she was gonna change their minds. She felt torn between a friendship and a relationship, and right now, watching Remy flirt his way down the row of lockers and seeing Risty's face darken at his approach... she seriously wondered why.

Remy ambled to a stop in front of them, flashing a brilliant grin at Rogue - but pointedly ignoring the purple-haired girl standing next to her. "Chere. Ready for lunch? I was thinkin' we could maybe-"

"Oh, too late," Risty interrupted, her tone a bit to cheerful to be genuine. "Rogue's having lunch with me - right, girl? Of course, you could always join us..."

The grin's wattage dimmed slightly, but he shrugged nonchalantly and pushed away from the lockers with a casual, "Non, that's okay. Catch you sixth period, chere."

"Right," Rogue said, giving him a smile that was probably about as convincing as Risty's cheer. "I'll see ya."

She shut her locker door and turned away from him before she could see the inevitable flicker of hurt cross his face. It was mostly an act, she knew - the habits of an eternal Casanova - but it still made her feel bad. The thing was, obligation was a lousy reason to stay in a relationship. Even she knew that, and she had less relationship experience than probably anyone in the school.

"What's wrong?" Risty asked, falling into step beside her as they made their way towards the cafeteria.

"Nothin'," she said immediately. "I just - I don't have enough change for the soda machine."

Risty snapped her fingers and produced a handful of coins from a pocket on her backpack. "Here. Get one for me, too, okay? - I have to make a quick run to the restroom. Oh, and find a good table!"

Rogue juggled the coins in her hand and sighed at her friend's retreating back. "Sure. Why not. Ain't got nothin' else to do, 'cept feel miserable for myself..."

Risty pushed open the restroom door, wrinkling her nose at the smell. There were some perks to being a teenager - it was endlessly easier than being a principal - but using high-school toilet facilities along with several hundred other people was not on that list. At least I have the comfort of knowing Kelly isn't doing any better cracking down on drug use than I did, she thought, waving her hand to disperse a cloud of suspicous smoke.

A light tap on her shoulder caught her off-guard, and so did the hand that clamped down over her mouth. She struggled for a moment before simply shape-shifting out her attacker's grasp, then spun to face him. "Are you insane?" she hissed at Remy LeBeau, too incensed to do anything else.

LeBeau shook his head and put a warning finger in her face. "You stay away from her, Darkholme. I warn you twice now, and you better listen. Else I'm gonna use your shape-shiftin' head for target practice, comprez-vous?"

"You can shove it, catfish," she snapped, batting his hand away. She looked over her shoulder
briefly, checking to make sure the place was empty, then switched to her normal voice. The
British accent got on her nerves, and LeBeau knew it was a fake anyway; she didn't see the need to keep it up. "God knows, I'm not obligated to you - we don't even work for the same employer anymore. What's more, you don't have any say in who Rogue associates with. If she wants me as her best friend, then so be it."

LeBeau's eyes flashed. "She want Risty t'be her friend, not Raven. What you think she say if I tell her your lil' secret, hahn?"

The threat made her narrow her eyes in cold hatred, because she knew precisely what Rogue would say, and because such blatant manipulation was an affront to her pride - which he knew, of course. "Try it, thief, and I can guarantee that she'll find out some negative things about you, too."

He glared at her, and she glared back. Stalemate. Again.

Without looking away, she slipped back into the Risty persona and gave him another fake smile. "Now, I'm late for lunch, and I still need to use the loo. So, if you don't mind..."

"Not at all, Ms. Darkholme," Remy said, bowing from the waist in a gesture so overdone, so obviously meant to insult, that she was strongly tempted to kick him the face while she had the chance. Instead she turned on her heels and headed for the stalls. Once he'd gone, she leaned against a grafitti-covered wall and silently fumed. This stalemate was going to come to an end - the sooner the better. And she had just the ticket...

Rogue was toying with the soda cans absently, lost in a maze of bleak thoughts, when Risty sat down on the bench next to her. "I'm back! What'd you get me?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, grape somethin'." She handed over one of the cans and opened the other one, taking a sip more out of habit than actual thirst. She nearly spit it out when the taste registered - black cherry? Ugh. God, she was out of it today.

"Oh, perfect," Risty said, but she didn't open the drink. Instead she fiddled with the poptop and looked uncomfortable.

So uncomfortable, in fact, that Rogue felt a little afraid that maybe things weren't back to normal and she was going to be having lunch alone. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean-" She took a deep breath and turned to face Rogue. "Rogue, I... I don't remember if I told you, but I am sorry about everything that happened. I know it took a lot of guts for you to tell me about - everything - and I feel really badly about my reaction."

"It's okay," Rogue said, honestly surprised by this outpouring. She'd been braced for the worst, and here it was something positive all along.

"No, it's not," Risty said, shaking her head. "I want to do something for you - an apology gift, I suppose you could call it. There's a doctor, a friend of my family, and he's in New York City right now for a medical conference. He's a geneticist, and I was thinking that maybe..."

"He could 'fix' me," Rogue finished for her, more depressed than angry. Risty nodded and she sighed. "It doesn't work like that, Risty."

"But how do you know? Dr. Milbury's brilliant - lightyears ahead of everyone else in his field!"

"Well..." she said, stalling as her brain furiously worked out the implications. It was a hard offer to resist - just the chance of being able to touch again, without fear, for the first time in years... Even without Remy in the picture, it would've been a dream come true. Still, feeling the bubble of hope rising in her chest, she had to be realistic: the prof and Beast were brilliant, too, and neither of them had made a breakthrough like that. Then again, a little voice whispered in her mind, the prof and Beast aren't full-time researchers. This guy is. Who's to say he hasn't found a way?

But it was a moot point, she remembered suddenly, her hope fading. There was the small matter
of the punishment levied against her for her part in a very illegal activity - namely, taking Wolverine's motorcycle for an unauthorized spin with Remy. It had been fun at the time, and she'd probably do it again if the opportunity presented itself, but having crossed Logan once, she was reluctant to trespass now. So she leaned forward, propping her chin in her hands, and said, "I can't. I'm grounded, remember?"

Risty made a face. "So? Use some of that secret mutant training and sneak out!"

"Say it a little louder, I don't think everyone heard you," Rogue snapped, but then she grinned.

To hell with Wolverine. "Okay, I'll do it." Risty clapped her hands, delighted. "Oh, wonderful! You won't regret this, Rogue, I know it."

Rogue nodded, feeling a thousand times happier now that she'd made the decision. She picked up the mostly untouched drink sitting in front of her and stood. "I hope not. And could I have another sixty cents for the machine? I just realized I hate this flavor."

Getting out of the Institute unnoticed wasn't easy. The professor was gone, which made it easier, and Wolverine was in the Danger Room, busy training the new recruits, which was the biggest break she could've hoped for. Still, Rogue had nearly gotten busted three times, and she wasn't even out of the house yet.

First it had been Kitty, who almost caught her leaving the room - thank god for the big linen closet in the hall. Then it had been Kurt and Evan, bounding up the stairs as she was getting ready to descend. And then, right as she'd reached the rec room, Beast had emerged from the basement elevator. Rogue had never jumped through a door so fast in her life.

At the moment, she was pressed against a wall, waiting for Scott and Jean to get the heck out of the kitchen so she could run past the door, down the hallway and out the back. The fact that she really didn't want to hear their conversation made the wait only slightly worse.

"-don't know what I'm going to do," Jean was saying. She sounded miserable, and the part of Rogue that wasn't annoyed with them for holding up the show felt sorry for her. "I can't- I just can't stand it anymore!"

"Then break up with the guy," Scott said - for purely unselfish reasons, of course, Rogue thought, and rolled her eyes. If any good had come from her (admittedly weird) relationship with Remy, it was that she'd gotten rid of her sort-of crush on Scott. Didn't stop her from being exasperated by him and his tap-dance around Jean, though.

"I can't," Jean said. "I hate doing that kind of stuff. The psychic feedback is... ugh."

Come on, come on, she thought, trying not to think to loudly lest Jean pick up on it. She checked her watch, anxious; Risty was already waiting on the other side of the Institute's outer wall. How long were they gonna talk anyway?

"But if you don't like him, you need to tell him," Scott said, sounding not a little impatient. "Otherwise you'll be stuck with him until graduation, at least."

Jean sighed. "Maybe I should stay with him anyway."

Rogue didn't really hear that comment, which mirrored her own dilemma. She was too busy thinking. Sure, she could just stroll past like nothing was up, but she was supposed to be in her room pondering her crimes and doing homework, and if Scott saw her, she'd be in more even trouble than she was going to be when she got back. She knew for a fact that Remy was following his punishment - tonight, anyway - because she'd discreetly checked on him while pretending to be on her way to the bathroom. The jerk was gonna make her look twice as bad.

Scott asked, with audible shock, "Why?"

"It's better than being alone," Jean said, and Rogue rolled her eyes again. Miss Popularity needed to get some independence.

"You're not alone, Jean. I mean, you have... You have all of us."

"Friends and teammates aren't the same thing as a boyfriend."

Scott murmured a response, too low for her to hear, and something told Rogue that now would be a good time to make a break for it. She took a deep breath, glanced around the corner, saw they were deep - very deep - in conversation with one another, and slipped past the doorway.

The rest of it was clear sailing. She jogged across the lawn, sticking to the shadows, and gave the Institute a thorough once-over to make sure no one had followed her. Then she climbed over the wall with ease and dropped down on the other side.

Risty's car was parked not far away, and Rogue quickly ran to the driver's side and tapped on the glass.

Risty jumped a little, then broke into a wide smile and rolled down the window. "Hey, girl! What are you waiting for? - get in!"

Rogue wasted no more time and got into the car, clicking her seatbelt on as Risty zoomed off with music blaring.

She never saw the slim, shadowed figure that crouched on the wall, having trailed her from the start, or the pair of red eyes that now narrowed in concern at her departure.

"Where you goin' wit' that devil, chere?" Remy muttered, staring after the swiftly-disappearing taillights. He had the distinct feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

"You're going to love Dr. Milbury," Risty said, slapping her hands against the steering wheel in time with the music. She was an incurable fan of '80s music - all kinds - and right now Rogue was suffering through a New Wave compilation CD. "He's the greatest, really friendly, and I know you're just going to love him, I know it!"

"Great," Rogue said, wincing, "but could we please listen to something else?"

Risty gave her an incredulous look. "You don't like the Thompson Twins?"

"Not especially," Rogue said, and slouched down further in her seat. Now that she was actually
on the road, committed to this thing, she was nervous as all get-out, and like always, she was channeling that into a bad attitude. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Maybe she should've told someone where she was going - but who? The kids who wouldn't blab it all over the Institute would rat her out to the adults immediately. Still, it was just one more reason to be ansty about the whole mess.

Risty heaved a melodramatic sigh and hit 'stop'. "And 'Lay Your Hands' is one of my favorite songs, too."

"So this guy is a friend of your family?" Rogue asked, partly to change the subject and partly because she wanted to know about the person who'd be messing with her DNA.

"Um, yeah. My parents met him at university," Risty said without taking her eyes off the road. "You've been to New York - have I missed the exit?"

Rogue squinted at the late-afternoon world outside. "No, not yet."

"Oh, good. So when this works, what are you going to do?"

"If it works. I dunno." She stared out the window, watching the houses and buildings pass by. "A couple weeks ago, I'dve said... nevermind."

"What?"

Rogue sighed and looked at her gloved hands lying in her lap. "I would've said, give Remy a kiss."

She'd thought that Risty would make a nasty comment, or do something else, but the other girl just nodded thoughtfully. "And now?"

"I don't know." She went back to staring out the window, and Risty made no further effort at conversation. They rode in silence until the twilight had almost deepened into night, and the relative suburbia had given way entirely to the bustling city of New York.

In fact, it wasn't until they had turned off the road, gone up an alley and pulled to a stop in the garage of a weatherbeaten two-story house that the British girl finally said, "Look, Rogue, I know you liked him-"

"I still like him," Rogue corrected quickly. Maybe a little too quickly.

"Right. But Rogue, there is so much more waiting for you out there than a scroungy thief," Risty said earnestly, turning off the engine and grasping her hand. "You have so much potential, and after this visit you are going to have so much more. I just know it."

Rogue nodded, but inside she was slightly puzzled. That hadn't seemed like Risty. It had almost been like someone else - someone older, like a parent or an aunt.

Getting too paranoid, girl, she told herself, and climbed out of the car. It was dark in the garage, which was strangely empty of boxes and other garage-type junk. The only light came from the open door behind them. Another door creaked open, but brought no light with it.

Rogue was picking up some very uneasy vibes from this place.

Paranoid. Right.

"Hello?" a woman asked, high heels clicking on the cement floor.

"Hullo," Risty said, a bit uncertain herself. "Dr. Milbury is expecting us."

"Of course he is," the woman said, stepping into the dim illumination. Rogue saw a mass of green-and-white streaked hair, a skintight lime-green dress with a swirling pattern, green gloves, and a wicked smile. "And you're right on time."

The uneasy vibes turned into a full-blown alarm, and Rogue started backing up towards the only exit. "Risty..."

"Oh, no, that's not my name. I'm Vertigo," the green woman said, smile growing wider, and raised her hands. A green, spiraling wave radiated out from her fingers, washing over Rogue before she could do anything but blink and take another step back.

The world tilted under Rogue's feet. She leaned against the car for balance and kept staggering backwards. "Risty! Get outta here!"

"I... I can't," Risty called back, clutching her head. She wasn't leaning against the car - she had fallen to the floor next to it. Rogue fought down a curse and grabbed at the antenna, desperate to stay on her feet as the garage whirled around her.

She had a plan. Not much of a plan, but it was a good one: knock Vertigo out, and then get Risty, and then get the heck out of there. But it woudn't work if she fell down. And she needed to find a weapon, the sooner the better-

"There's no way out, Rogue," a very familiar voice growled behind her, and with no small amount of horror (and dizziness) she spun around to see Sabretooth blocking her exit. There were three other people standing behind him; she couldn't really make out the details, but it looked like three other guys - no, two guys and one woman who needed to cut back on the steroids.

The tilting, whirling feeling was starting to make her nauseous, but Rogue had always been too stubborn for her own good. And right now, she was bound and determined to get the hell out of there, Sabretooth and his goon squad or not.

She drew herself up, defiant, and spat, "That's what you think!"

And then she did something really stupid - so stupid that she wondered if maybe she hadn't been spending too much time with Wolverine. She charged them.

Caught by surprise at the act, Vertigo stopped her onslaught, and Rogue was mercifully able to stay on her feet the whole time. It would've looked bad if she'd taken two steps and fallen flat on her face.

Sabretooth growled and sidestepped her easily, but the man right behind him stayed put. With the ghostly shreds of Cody's memories giving her an idea, Rogue put her shoulder down and slammed into him.

She was surprised when he grunted at the impact and actually gave way. Rogue burst out of the garage and into the alleyway, almost falling over her own feet, and tried frantically to figure out what to do next. Go for help? Call for help and come back to rescue Risty?

Call Remy, her brain screamed, and that sounded like the best idea. She was suddenly desperate to hear his voice.

Before she'd taken a single step, though, a massive hand grabbed her shoulder and jerked her backwards. "Oh no you don't - the boss has plans for you."

It was the big woman, and Rogue didn't think a football move would even dent her, seeing as how she was covered neck-to-toe in silver metal armor. A buzzcut and a pair of wraparound shades finished the look.

"Yeah, well, I got plans too, and bein' kidnapped ain't one of them," Rogue said, and stomped down on the big woman's foot as hard as she could.

The woman sucked down a sharp breath, but didn't let go. "Cute. Now you're gonna get blasted!"

Rogue made a last-ditch dive forward, heard her shirt rip, and stumbled out of the big woman's grasp - only to be immediately caught again, this time by a hand clamped around her upper arm.

The big woman swung her around so they were face-to-face, smirked, and put her hand an inch away from Rogue's nose. "Night, kid."

She flicked her fingers together, not even touching Rogue, and a brilliant light flared from the point of impact; it was followed a split-second later by a concussive wave that knocked the fifteen-year-old girl backwards. She fell like a rag doll, unconscious long before she hit the ground.

"Nice," Mystique said behind them. "Now do you mind bringing her inside before someone sees you, Arclight?"

Arclight slung the girl over her armored shoulder and walked back into the garage. " 'Sfunny, Darkholme, I don't remember the boss putting you in charge."

"I don't remember him putting you in charge either, you big gorilla."

Much to Arclight's displeasure, Harpoon and Riptide chuckled at that. She scowled, and both men quieted. "At least I caught her."

Sabretooth made a low, growling noise. "Yeah, well, I am in charge, and I say both of you need t' shut up."

Arclight's scowl deepened, and Mystique narrowed her eyes, but they did as told.

Vertigo led the way as they descended into the house's hidden passage. Arclight, in the middle of the group, shifted Rogue's body on her shoulder. It was a long walk back to the lab.